A sitcom is short for the two words" situational comedy". It is generally a long running television series. The most successful and popular sitcoms are primarily American, including but not limited to  'The Simpsons', 'Parks and Recreation', and the British 'Fleabag'.  

 

One thing these three sitcoms share in common is that they are not targeted towards a younger audience. At its core, a sitcom involves a group of characters who are cyclical, stable and really never change. 

After many onslaughts of the literal apocalypse and Halloween specials where characters get killed off, you can be sure to see that they come back in the next episode, or the next five. 

 

Sitcoms are an inherent comfort, my parents grew up on them, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents too. Even in the age of streaming services and endless content, I can always be sure to turn back to a sitcom. 

 

These sitcoms prove to be the most valuable television series to streaming services. Netflix paid just over 100 million for  Friends  alone. When The Office (US) got taken off of the browsing catalogue of Netflix, many devoted fans took to ranting on Twitter, even going as far as to email Netflix themselves. Andre D from my neighbourhood says' I've always felt at home with Sitcoms. I suppose they don't really stimulate my mind but I like them anyway' 

 

Let's look at the plot of a revered sitcom , e.g.  " New Girl".  New Girl revolves around an elementary school teacher who moves in with three guys and becomes the, you guessed it, New Girl.  Jess, the protagonist runs into a few issues, crushing on her coworker, and dealing with the biggest problem of all: the fear of becoming old. In Season 1, Jess' best friend dates her roommate, Schmidt ,simple enough. In season 2 to the end, Jess becomes enthralled and falls in love with her deeply flawed roommate, Nick.  Did I mention her best friend and  Schmidt get married In season 5. The fan favourite, Megan Fox is cast as a temporary roommate and love interest for Nick .

Ultimately, the roommates end up having a great time , with  Schmidt and her best friend having a child together, and  Nick proposes to Jess. 

 

While this may seem like a confusing plot, the characters ultimately end up slightly better versions of themselves,  Jess is an elementary school principal, her best friend runs a modelling agency, and her male roommates overcome the toxicity of not expressing their emotions. 

 

These characters feel the same, yet human and real. If I were to click into season 5, I might see some fresh faces, but I see the same characters struggling with similar problems. 

 

That is, ultimately the comfort of the sitcom, the characters feel the same as you're growing up and going through challenges. Bart Simpson is always going to be a small ,mischievous ten year old boy, and no director or animator is ever going to age him upwards permanently. 

 

I can guarantee you that most people have seen the hit series " Friends". No one I know  can ever tell me the ending of it. Do they all get married? Do our New York friends end up happy? What jobs do they hold?  

 

We may have a basic concept of the show, but do we truly know the plot inside out? No. 

 

The plot is not engrossing; it's not designed to be ; the comfort is within the nostalgia of these sitcoms. 

 

What's your favourite sitcom?